Mew Gull (or Short-billed Gull) is the name used for the species in North America, and is also used in international bird lists (where the general practice tends to be to try and avoid the use of "common" because there will always be areas where a species occurs but is not common!).

However, the race that is typically found in North America and, I believe, parts of Siberia (L. c. brachyrynchus) is often proposed as a separate species, so in Europe the name "Mew Gull" is generally used by birders only when they are referring to that race (there has been record on the Azores, and occasional unsubstantiated claims elsewhere in Europe).

Interestingly, a suggestion has been made (in a letter to British Birds magazine) that the name "Common Gull" might not originally have been meant to imply that the species was numerous - they are only widespread in the UK during the winter. It was suggested that the species habit of feeding on short grass (like playing fields) may have meant that it the past they were frequently observed on short grazed "common" land!